Hedge Trimming Day

Here they come with a wheelbarrow full of leaves.  You can see the newly trimmed hedge in the background beyond the driveway.



Now if Rich can just make it past Wally and LuLu…



They can throw the trimmings on the pile.



I don’t know who has more fun – Rich or the dogs.



Rich says this next photo looks like a tree with a dog body for a trunk.



LuLu, too!



Everything we do outside is quite the event with Wally and LuLu involved.  It takes longer, but it’s a lot more fun.  Have a great weekend!

Free Digital Stamp Alert!

You’ve seen the Wally and LuLu cards I’ve made from Alexandra’s sketches.  She’s also sent me some flower sketches.  This is one of them:



She sketched these African Daisies from a photo on my blog.  The sketch includes a fly on the petals, but I accidently colored over one of the wings and couldn’t correct it so I colored over the whole fly.  I printed on Flourishes Classic White cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  The sentiment is from Flourishes, and the designer paper is BasicGrey Kioshi.

Now, for the fun part – Alexandra has shared this sketch and others on her new blog for all to use.  You can find this sketch here.  But, please treat yourself by starting at her most recent post and scrolling through her artwork.  You’ll find more free digitals as well as some pretty amazing sketches she’s done for herself.  Serious talent there.  I hope you enjoy!

Today is Wally's Birthday

Today Wally turns three years old and every minute of his life has been worth celebrating.  Since Wally came to live with us not a single day has passed without the best kind of warm fuzzies.  Some folks say we humanize our dogs too much, but I have to wonder if it’s not the other way around and they, in fact, humanize us.  Certainly they bring out the best human qualities in those of us who love and care for them.  I’ll never regret a moment of our mutual selfless devotion, nor will I feel sheepish or silly or extreme in my affection for Wally and LuLu.  However you explain this bond, it’s as genuine as anything between humans.

We celebrated Wally's birthday a little early when we were both home from work.

The presents are in the bag…



The happy birthday boy smiles his thanks.



I think he likes it.



Of course, there had to be two presents so he could share with LuLu.



Happy birthday, Wally!  You can’t imagine how much you mean to us!

OUR WALLY VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Miss Victoria Kitten

Hello!  Just popping in for a moment with a card I made for a friend’s birthday, which is today (happy birthday, Rhonda!).  I stitched a pocket for a gift card inside, hence the “Special Delivery”.



Miss Victoria Kitten is a digital stamp from Squigglefly.  She was just too darling to resist, and she colored up so pretty.  I printed her on Flourishes Classic White cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  The “Special Delivery” is a JustRite stamp from their Just Because mini sentiments set, cut with a JustRite custom die by Spellbinders.  The designer paper is Prima Romantique.  Stitching, pearls, and a pert little bow finished her off.   A sweet image for one who likes kitties and roses.

I hope your week got off to a good start and will continue the same.  Enjoy your day!

Naughty Little LuLu!

Isn’t this quite the slobbered up mess?  Mmmm, leather – yum!  My husband’s shoe… not a favorite and not very expensive, but still…  Never did find the missing parts.  I think she ate them.  LuLu has never chewed up anything in the house before, but she did this the other morning while I was taking a shower.  I heard her barking at the bathroom door when I went in there, and then a lot of thumping around.  I went to investigate when I got out of the shower and caught her red handed – shoe in mouth.  End of fun.  Sorry little LuLu tried to make up with me, but I let her stew in her own juices just a little while.



Wally was sympathetic ‘cause that’s just the kind of guy he is.  He was laying right beside her when I caught her with the shoe, sort of tucked into the corner looking like “I tried to tell her.”



I can’t stay mad at her, nor should I.  Frankly, I think she has a mild case of separation anxiety.  I’ll be reading up on that, but for now I’ll just go love on her a little more.  Have a good day!

Two Variations on a Very Simple Theme

Hello and happy Monday!  I had a very productive weekend.  The sun was shining and it seemed to energize me.  I spent my days outside, but also did a lot of housework and stamping.  Granted, the stamping was not very involved, but I did make five cards for my little cards-for-sale basket at work.  The two simplest cards were my favorites so I’m sharing those today.

Of all the beautiful stamps I have it may seem odd that I selected this old Stampin’ Up! Very Punny set to work with.  Well, the idea was to:

• Keep it simple
• Make the kind of cards that appeal to my customer base (coworkers)
• Stick with a single set which serves a variety of occasions 

I also thought I’d try to use up the rest of my BasicGrey Urban Prairie designer paper, but I didn’t get very far on that.

The first is a baby card.  There’s always someone needing a baby card.



The second is a thank you card.



I’ll make three more cards with this set, and I think they’ll all be a variation on this layout.  Just taking care of business to help pay for the (ahem) new stamps I bought the other day.

See you again soon!  Enjoy your brand new week!

A Single Sunny Day

We’ve had a very rainy week.  Not just a light sprinkle here and there, but some honest to goodness soakers.  My husband calls this month “Junuary” (January weather in June).  The sun came out Wednesday, however, and we emerged from our cozy den to enjoy it.



LuLu likes to play in the sprinkler.  You’d wonder why we had to turn the sprinkler on between the rain showers, but we have newly reseeded patches in the lawn.



This seems to be as good a way as any to dispose of the weeds…



When will summer arrive?  I hope you’re staying dry and enjoying your weekend.  Wally and LuLu send their love.  Take care!

Guess Who?

I’m back today with another one of those amazing sketches from Alexandra.  I probably don’t need to tell you this one is my sweet little LuLu.  Alexandra does such a good job of capturing the personality of her subject.



In case you missed it before, Alexandra has been following my blog for quite some time, with a particular fondness for Wally and LuLu.  One day she just up and emailed me a sketch of Wally, followed closely by several more sketches.  It’s been quite a bit of excitement for me!  My Wally card can be seen here.

This image was printed on Flourishes’ Classic White cardstock and colored with Copic markers.  Her ears are little too orange, even though I used nothing but browns on her.  She’s still a cute puppy regardless of color.  I layered brown tones of cardstock to frame the image, with the middle mat embossed with the Sizzix Hearts and Vines frame.  I used CTMH cardstock for the embossed layer, then sanded to bring out the white core.

Can card making get much more fun?  Thank you so much, Alexandra!  Wishing you all a beautiful day!

A Happy Ending

This is a story about my Godson, Nando.  As a puppy, Nando was living in squalor, left to run loose in the street, and given a good kick now and then “just because”.  He was timid of most everyone, and thoroughly afraid of men, yet longing and hungry for any crumb of affection that might come his way.  When another friend and I learned of his story we set ourselves on a mission to rescue this sad, sweet, gentle, loving, and forgiving soul.  It wasn’t long before we had delivered him into the hands of his new Mom and Dad who would nurture away all his fears and bad memories.  Nando’s a young adult now, living a happy, well-adjusted life.  He’s pictured here with my friend, Kathy, the Mom every puppy dreams about.



No longer does he run loose in the street.



He’s living in the lap of luxury now.



He has toys to play with.



Friends to hang out with.







Fun adventures and activities.





He’s learned that not all men are bad.



He watches for his people with happy anticipation rather than fear.



He will live happily ever after.



Bless his sweet little huge heart.  Love you, Nando.

Take Time to Smell the Flowers

Smiles, love, and hugs to all!

More From the Garden

The front walk with some spring color.  I always want more and more flowers blooming, but there’s something so restful about the green.  The barberry in the foreground provides color all season as the blooms beyond it change.



Here’s that pink evergreen azalea up close, just coming into bloom.  It’s one of my favorites.



I planted this chain tree as a tiny seedling.



A rhododendron in the back yard.









Can’t help it, I have a passion for green.  This mingling dead nettle and sweet woodruff make a lush carpet in shady spots.  The dead nettle blooms yellow and the sweet woodruff sprinkles the carpet with white.



Just wanted to finish up with some color – verbena and geranium in one of my deck pots.



Have a beautiful day!